


you knew you had a reason

by fallingmistinthedark



Series: Slipping [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF!Lance, Blade Member!Lance, Blue Paladin!Matt, F/M, Lance's Tragic Backstory Gets Unlocked: Tune In Next Time, Lotor is Actually Not an Asshole, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, OFC/OFC - Freeform, Slow burn Klance, Space Mercenary Lance, but i'm changing lotor from a bad guy into a sort of good guy, it should be simple to tell who's it is but if it isn't just hmu on my tumblr, slippingverse, sorry for any continuity errors, super slow burn, switching POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-04-30 23:23:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14507727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingmistinthedark/pseuds/fallingmistinthedark
Summary: it killed you like diseases, i can hear it in your voice while you're speakingFirst order of business for Lance once he wakes up from the coma he's about to be in for staying up two days in a row is to find Hunk and maybe talk about what happened with him. Second is teaching everyone how to deal with a druid. and third is to introduce Dio to Allura and Coran. Luckily for him though, he doesn't have to do two of those things because Hunk is avoiding him like the plague and Dio introduced herself, so that counts as a score for him, right?





	you knew you had a reason

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really super sorry this took four months! Two of those I was actually not even writing because the computer I had it on broke and I wanted to transfer the file of what I already had but then I just went screw it one day and started writing a new one. And then shit hit the fan with my school and home life, so, well, yeah. Anyway, I got some time to write today and finish it up, so yeah. Enjoy 11K(I believe) of this plot driven slow burn klance fic that you guys seem to enjoy. Thanks for being patient with me!
> 
> title taken from : wires - the neighbourhood

Lotor knew they were on schedule, and yet he had the oddest feeling they were behind. His plan was working excellently, and he had intelligence that the paladins had taken his bait, or at least that little Blade mercenary that had been assigned to the paladins had. Nonetheless, the bait had been taken, and he’d gathered more information, information leading him in the right direction. 

The former Blue Paladin disappearing had set his plans back some, but now that he’d found a suitable replacement for the little paladin, or so it seemed, he didn’t need the Blue one anymore. All he needed now was the Blade mercenary, who held much the same energies as the original Blue Paladin had. He pulled up the information his informants had managed to gather on that mercenary, known as the Blue Wraith all through his father’s Empire. The Blade, however, as he had come to find with the capture of a certain commanding officer, called him Rayul. In the ancient language of the people of planet Yggdrasil, it meant ‘avenging weapon’. 

Now that Lotor was looking at the information though, he found more and more… oddities… that corresponded between the two persons of interest. Both were deadly when a sniper was placed in their hands. Both preferred fighting at a distance, but the Blade mercenary had blade handling skills, something the paladin had not had, all those months ago. But then, Lotor thought, it had been months, plenty enough time for one to complete the Blade training regiment. 

The mercenary, he found, had not one single picture where his mask was off in databases accessible to him. Even the most hardened Blades took their masks off when they felt they had completed their missions, and he had a pretty good identifying database on most Blades active in his father’s Empire. That was peculiar, and a behavior only shared by those in his database trying (futilely, all of the time, until now it seemed, since he already knew who they were) to hide their identities. 

Perhaps he’d stumbled across something his opponents didn’t know, as it seemed they were still, sporadically, searching for their Blue Paladin. Perhaps this mercenary was the one he’d wanted all along. He would say needed, but needed was the wrong word. He didn’t need the mercenary, or the Blue Paladin for his plans, but it seemed rather obvious their energies were the only thing he was going to be able to obtain. It didn’t seem very likely that the long lost Princess of Altea would go along with his plans, seeing as he was the son of the big bad Emperor Zarkon. Lotor scoffed at the thought. He was as far from his father as one could get, in the situation he was in. 

“Acxa?” He called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off the screen in front of him. He heard footsteps quietly approach through the muted sounds of the rest of his crew doing their work. 

“Yes, my Prince?” She replied, letting him know she was ready to receive his orders. 

“Look at these sets of data for me. Do you see what I see?” Lotor asked, causing Acxa to lean over his shoulder to get a better look. After some moments, she straightened back to stand tall at his shoulder. 

“If it’s what I’m thinking, then yes. Peculiar, indeed. I did note the mercenary bled red when I shot him on Daibazaal,” Acxa said, confirming his thoughts. Lotor smirked. This mercenary had made on critical mistake in hiding his identity from Lotor. Galra bled purple, not red. But the paladins did. 

><

Without thinking, Hunk opened the door. “Lance?!”

Rayul’s head snapped around, the hoodie hiding anything recognizable from sight until he turned, revealing… Lance. Hunk’s breath caught in his throat. Lance was crying, looking like his heart was breaking in the same ways Hunk’s was right now. Lance was in Allura’s arms, and it looked like she’d even shed a few tears. Hunk gulped. Allura… she’d known. That’s why she hadn’t been angry after that talk with Coran… which meant Coran had known even before that. And if Matt went with Rayul when he went to have his meals that meant… even Matt knew. And Nyma and Rolo had to know, as his subordinates. And Pidge must’ve because she had been the one to let Rayul out again. Did Keith know? Did Shiro? Did everybody know but him? 

Had Lance told everyone but him, the one who had been closest to Lance since they’d met the first day at the Garrison. Hunk told Lance everything before he left. And he’d trusted Lance to do the same. But this was the second time now that he hadn’t. And Hunk felt his heart break just a little more. Lance started reaching toward Hunk, as if to bring him closer, but Hunk couldn’t bare it. He turned, ran out, to where, he didn’t know. All he knew was that he wasn’t looking back. He needed to be alone right now. 

><

Lance found himself staring at the space Hunk had just been mouth open to apologize until suddenly, he wasn’t there anymore. The door swished back closed, and Coran looked stricken when Lance slid his gaze over to the older man. 

“I’m terribly sorry, Number 3, it seems I forgot to lock the door somehow. Do you want me to go find him, talk to him perhaps? It didn’t look very much like he’d want to talk to you, if you’d excuse me for putting it in such a way,” Coran said, kneeling by where Allura had tightened her hold on Lance. It was just a bit, as if to comfort him. It didn’t exactly comfort him when he felt like he’d been rejected, or worse, slapped. Somehow that option seemed just a little better, once he’d thought about it. At least Hunk would’ve stayed long enough for Lance to maybe keep him there so he could explain. 

“That’d be great,” Lance found himself saying, trying to force a smile. That was getting him at about the same place if he tried smiling through someone’s funeral. Coran smiled down at him sadly, nodded once, then got up and stepped out the door. Allura got him up as the door swished closed, and he got up, not without his fair share of swaying from the lack of balance his sleep deprivation had earned him. She looked over to him worriedly as she adjusted her hold, supporting his weight against her. 

“Are you alright, Lance?” She asked, leading him closer to the door. “Do you need me to take you to your room for adequate rest?” Lance felt his eyes keep slipping closed against the harsh lighting of the hallways. 

“Please, Princess,” Lance replied, his voice coming out harsher than he meant it to. She gave him a worried smile as they began the long journey down the hallway. Lance decided to just close his eyes, both to protect his eyes from the light and to let himself start to at least try to relax enough to sleep. Lance had a feeling though, that he wouldn’t need to try. His head would hit the pillow, and he’d be gone to the world. He heard noises of people walking, and he feared for himself, wondering if it was someone who didn’t know. They never stopped them though, so Lance figured he was safe. 

“Here we are,” Allura said, slowing to a stop and half turning them towards what Lance hoped was a door. If not, he’d just end up going headfirst into one of the castle walls, which, by his standards, was not very cool. “Do you need help getting inside and to bed?” Lance shook his head, though he was thankful for her offer. She had the good will and patience of an angel, once you got her loyalty.

“I think I’ve got it. How long do I have to sleep?” Lance asked, already reaching out a hand to lean against the wall next to the door. He almost feared he was leaning on the door, but it didn’t open spontaneously with his motion like the doors usually did, so he supposed he was safe from an embarrassing fall backwards. 

“Until we start preparing for this next mission, unless something comes up. You’ve done well, Lance. Have a good rest,” Allura told him, her statement followed by the sound of her dress swishing as she turned and her shoes clicking gently as she walked back down the wall the way they’d come. Lance cracked an eye open to navigate himself into his bedroom. He tiredly felt his way through the room before literally falling into the bed. Lance half-heartedly pulled the rest of himself onto the bed, and only had a few seconds to think about the last few hours as he felt himself begin to drift off. 

His last thought before he fell into a disturbing dream filled sleep was of Hunk. 

><

Keith felt that something was off, in the strained look on Coran’s face, the semi-worried look on Matt’s face, the fidgety way Pidge was moving around the command deck as they waited for Kolivan’s video call to arrive, the tense set of Nyma and Rolo’s shoulders and the way Hunk looked like he would literally rather be anywhere else. Shiro was the only one who looked like he normally did, though Keith still didn’t like the constantly worried look he had on his face. Keith missed the time Shiro’s smiles would come freely, back before Kerberos. 

Everyone was pointedly not talking to each other, and Pidge kept sending irritated glances over to Hunk every so often, like she was afraid he would spill all her secrets. Keith thought that was a bit ridiculous, because Hunk was like, the nicest one of all of them. 

Keith slowly shuffled over to where Shiro was standing, his confusion written all over his face. “Hey Shiro?” He asked, getting the older’s attention. “Do you know what’s going on with the others? They all look agitated, don’t they?” Shiro looked over to Keith, confusion replacing the worry on his own face as he looked up and around. “Uh huh,” he acknowledged as his face settled back into mild confusion, before shaking his head. 

“No, I have no idea what’s got them all so agitated. Maybe we should have a team meeting, get everybody to talk? Though if this is something too personal it would just be making them talk, and we wouldn’t want that, but we also don’t want whatever’s going on here to mess with forming Voltron,” Shiro thought out loud, before shrugging. “Don’t know. Maybe you should ask Allura? She’s been kind of on edge since last night. She could know what’s up.” Keith nodded, looking over to where Allura stood near the controls. Coran was whispering into her ear currently, and they kept glancing towards Hunk, just like Pidge and Matt had been, making Keith more confused. 

“Allura?” Keith asked, catching her attention as he came over. She switched her expression in the second it took her to straighten and look over. 

“Yes, Keith?” She asked, Coran still standing near her, though he’d backed off a step. 

“Do you know what’s going on with the others? Shiro’s worried it’s going to mess with Voltron and I’m just kind of worried. It all looks like you’ve all got something on Hunk,” Keith explained, making her brows draw closer as she realized he’d noticed something was up. 

“It’s nothing much, just a squabble between friends, I’m sure. I’m also worried that it will mess with Voltron, but Coran was just assuring me it won’t. Perhaps you should ask Hunk? It’s not really any of our places to talk about, you see,” Allura told him, only making him more confused. He walked away, in the direction of Hunk. He’d just stopped by the larger paladin when the call signal interrupted what he was about to ask. Allura accepted immediately, and Kolivan’s face filled the large screen. 

“Greetings, Kolivan. How has your group been managing?” Allura welcomed, a smile effectively covering the worried expression she’d had just moments later. 

“As you know, better after Rayul finished his mission last night. Where’s the three he collected from our headquarters? Are you letting them sleep?” Kolivan asked, voice laced with confusion that wasn’t shown on his face. 

“I know L-Rayul brought some of your people with him, but I have yet to greet them. I thought it best to let them rest, especially after the ordeal the captured one went through,” Allura responded, “Should I have called them here?” 

“I would have liked to speak with Mavrina, but it’s no matter. I’ll speak to her later on her personal device,” Kolivan told Allura, and that was when Keith heard the command deck’s door swish open, making him turn around. A large Galra woman wearing a Blade uniform was standing there next to a small, childlike Galra with a different type of Blade uniform on. There was someone else behind the two, who was clutching the larger woman’s hand. He caught a glimpse of tanned skin similar to Allura’s and long, gray silvery hair. It was darker than Allura’s though, which was almost a white. 

“I’m right here, Kolivan. Besides, I hate answering those personal devices. I’d much rather answer any questions you have here,” the larger Galran woman said, revealing herself to be the Mavrina Kolivan had mentioned. Mavrina walked further into the room, the other two following her. Keith found his eyes drawn to the woman behind Mavrina, who’s head was down, almost but not quite hiding her face. It didn’t stop him from seeing the faded golden swish mark that rested high on her tanned cheeks. Her eyes were a burning gold, almost a a burnt orange in places. Tips of pointed ears peeked out through the curtain of hair that she had. He sucked in a breath. Whoever Rayul had saved last night… whoever they were was an Altean. He heard a mirror reaction from Hunk beside him. 

“I very well know that, Mavrina. But I could have made the call an important one. Using your important tone. How would you like that?” Kolivan asked, a hint of a smirk on his face. “And does Dioryne have her mask off? She must trust you an awful lot to do that.” The Altean in question tensed, straightening up and brushing her hair back from her face and stepping forward between Mavrina and their companion. 

They all heard the twin gasps from Allura and Coran, seeing as they were so loud. They turned to each other in shock before turning back to the still Altean with an equally as shocked expression on her face. 

“How?” Was the first thing that either said, though, surprisingly, it was from Coran. 

“I should be asking you that,” Dioryne replied, “I was told I’m one of the last of my race. So why do I find you two here, with marks so filled with color? Our marks haven’t been filled that much in thousands of deca-phoebs.” 

“King Alfor had us escape the destruction days before it happened in this ship. I put Allura to cryosleep indefinitely, put this here castleship in a safe spot, powered it off save for the cryopods we were to rest in, and put myself to sleep. We were only just awakened a deca-phoeb and a half ago. How do you exist?” 

“But the destruction of Altea happened more than ten thousand deca-phoebs ago! Your pods should not have sustained you for so long,” Dioryne shot back. 

“I don’t have an explanation for it either. I really don’t. I realized the same a quintant after we were released. I couldn’t tell you,” Coran replied, hands balled at his sides. 

“Where do you come from?” Allura asked, choosing her words carefully. 

“We call it Ne’altea. That is not it’s official name, however. As far as I know, I exist because of all the Alteans that were off-planet when the planet was destroyed. They tried to find a hidden planet to settle on, that wouldn’t reject our species. So that’s where I’m from. And I’m the first to leave my planet in a very, very long time, as an ambassador of Alteans to the Alliance. Now, who are you?” Dioryne explained, looking to be getting more frustrated as every moment passed. Kolivan looked resigned to his fate of having to witness this conversation take place and looked to just be waiting there. 

“I am Princess Allura of Altea, and this is my adviser, Coran,” Allura said, rising to her full height. At the name Dioryne looked stricken, almost like she was expecting some god to smite her right then and there. 

“Forgive me, Princess. We have not forgotten about you, and assumed you fell in the destruction of Altea. There were no records anywhere of you escaping, but there were theories,” Dioryne said, offering a quick curtsy to Allura. Allura nodded and made a motion with her hand that Dioryne responded to by also rising up to her full height. 

“It’s quite alright. I assumed my father would have wanted it kept a secret. Who is governing you now?” Allura asked, and Dioryne shifted. 

“I probably shouldn’t tell you, protocol to follow and all that, but you’re _the_ Princess Allura, so I’m sure they’ll forgive me. Her name is Queen Romelle, and, come to think of it, she looks very similar to you, my Princess,” Allura’s face did a weird thing as the name fell out of Dioryne’s mouth, and she took a step back, almost as if slapped. 

“Romelle is still alive?” Allura asked, face contorting with something like unresolved pain. Dioryne shook her head, easing the tension of Allura’s shoulders. 

“The current Queen is named after your cousin, Princess, but she is not your cousin. I’m sorry if you were hoping so,” Dioryne explained, with shake of her head. Everything fell silent after that, save for the far off sound of Allura and Coran whispering together. 

“Are you quite done? This was supposed to be an update. I am not supposed to be watching this right now. I have things I need to do,” Kolivan spoke up, making Allura snap to attention, startling her almost as if she’d forgotten he was there. 

“Of course, Kolivan. Forgive me, this has been a shock to me, as the Alliance had not told me about a present day Altean presence,” Allura said, completely turned from Dioryne by now. Keith knew that that conversation wasn’t over, and that it would be continued somewhere else, probably somewhere more private. 

“I understand, Princess. One of the conditions for the Alteans to join the alliance was for their existence to be kept a secret to all except those at the very top. We had been meaning to tell you, but did not want to distract from your cause. We would have told you had their existence come under threat,” Kolivan explained, straightening up from where he’d been slouched disinterestedly. “There is not much to update each other on, though I do have an offer for your Red Paladin, if you should want to hear it.” Keith straightened up at the words, feeling the weight of Kolivan’s gaze as it focused on him. 

“We would like to hear it,” Allura said, giving Kolivan permission to give the offer. 

“Should you want it, Keith, we are willing to offer you a full time apprenticeship. You will be able to learn more about the other half of your inheritance, and we will look for the one who the blade you had was registered to,” Kolivan offered, surprising Keith more than he thought the offer would. Kieth had really only been hoping for a few days of a training course, so he was happy they’d offered him their full apprenticeship, but what he was really surprised at was the offer to help him find his mother. He’d assumed she was dead, from the way Kolivan hadn’t ever mentioned her before. 

“You can find out where my mom is?” Keith asked, taking a step forward. With the words release, several emotions swirled up inside of him, hope, anger, excitement, wariness. 

“Of course. Her DNA is in that blade, after all. It would be a simple matter to track her new blade, and where it is currently. All further questions can be answered when you get here, if you so choose to accept. Keith, Red Paladin of Voltron, do you accept the Blades of Marmora’s most generous offer?” Kolivan asked, and Keith almost, very nearly said yes. But then he thought about his place on the team, and the sadness his team would feel with him gone, almost just like Lance, but not quite. He wanted to accept the offer right then and there, he really did, but first he had to talk with the others, who would be equally as affected if he left as he would be. 

“I want to accept your offer, Kolivan, but as a paladin of Voltron, I have to talk with my team first, if that’s alright,” Keith said, and the statement seemed to make the paladins he could see happy. Pidge gave him a small, thankful smile, Shiro gave him a proud look, and Allura’s eyes twinkled with an emotion similar to pride, but not quite. 

Kolivan nodded on the screen, looking not quite pleased, but there was something positive there. “I accept your decision, paladin. However, this is a time sensitive matter, so I give you a week to decide,” Kolivan said, finishing with him as he turned back to Allura. “Is there anything I should be aware of? You have the latest Blade updates being sent to your adviser at this moment.” Allura shook her head. 

“That should be all. Thank you for your allotted time to make such an important decision. I wish you luck in your endeavors until we talk again,” Allura said, to which Kolivan nodded. “And to you.” With that, the call ended, and Allura relaxed just slightly. 

“Alright, paladins. We have two days until the attack on the satellite, and I want you all well rested. You have these two days mostly off except for afternoon training with the druid killing method. Do _not_ overdo anything. You’re dismissed,” she announced, and with that, Pidge and Matt left the room, quickly followed by Nyma and Rolo. He’d almost forgotten they were there, actually, with how quiet they had been. Nyma paused at the door and threw a hard glance at Hunk, making him really question what this was about. Keith knew Hunk was a naturally suspicious person, so maybe this was about Rayul. 

“You wanted to talk to me, Keith?” Hunk asked as Allura led Shiro, Coran, the Altean, and the two Galras out of the command deck, hopefully to somewhere private they could talk. 

“Uh, yeah. Everyone’s been acting a little strange today. I was wondering if you’d tell me what’s going on,” Keith said, to which Hunk turned around and started walking out, much to Keith's utter surprise. Keith turned and followed hurrying after Hunk as the other all but ran out of the room. “Hey, wait! I really want to know! Maybe I can help?” Keith added as he came up next to Hunk. Hunk stopped abruptly, and Keith almost knocked into him. 

“I don’t think you can help,” and with that, Hunk left a shocked Keith behind as he made his way down the hallway to God knew where. Keith let himself stand in the hallway a moment longer as he tried to process what had just happened. He felt a little hurt that Hunk wouldn’t let him help, but accepted that Hunk probably just needed some time alone to sort through his feelings. Keith made his way down the hall towards Red’s Hangar, and it wasn’t until he was at the door to the hangar that he realized the kitchens and Pidge’s lab, where Hunk usually spent most of his time, even when he was upset, were in the opposite direction he had gone. Keith wondered just what could have happened that made Hunk so upset between him and Rayul. 

><

Lance groggily sat up, feeling gross for some reason. Until he remembered the events of the last day, and remembering he had slept in his operation uniform, without taking a shower. And then he remembered Hunk. Lance let out a groan as he sat up in the dark room. His joints felt stiff, and his tongue felt like sandpaper, almost like he’d been sleeping for a ridiculously long amount of time. The situation with Hunk was only making him feel worse. 

“Lights on,” Lance called into the room, which immediately lit up at his words. He felt Blue’s presence let out a flare of amusement as he got up and stretched. “What are you laughing about?” Lance muttered, reaching for his mask in the place he always put it. It wasn’t there. Lance stiffened, hoping to God Hunk hadn’t stolen it as a way to force him out of hiding or whatever, until he remembered Allura had taken it off him and he’d never picked it up again, and realized Hunk would never do such a thing, even when he was mad at Lance. 

He looked around the room, quickly spotting his mask on the tabletop in the corner. A note sat next to it, from Pidge. 

_Keep better track of your mask dumbass,_ Lance laughed at the note. He hooked the mask on as he went to walk out. He needed a shower, something to eat, and to visit Blue. Nobody was in the hall when he came out of the room, so he assumed someone had let him sleep longer than he was supposed to. Allura did tell him to rest. Maybe she told the others not to bother him. He hoped Mav and Dio were doing alright. He turned the corner towards the bathrooms when all of a sudden he walked right into a woman walking out a the door there. 

“Oh! La-Rayul! You’re up! I’ll go tell the others,” Dio said, leaving him a little bit surprised. She gave him a smile before trying to move around him, but Lance placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to stop her, mouth agape in an expression of confusion she couldn’t see. 

“You- your mask? Why’s it off?” Lance asked, the question making the other laugh as she turned to fully face him. She was dressed in one of Allura’s dresses from the looks of it, and her face looked much more full of color than the last time he’d seen her. 

“Oh, that? I find no reason to wear a mask concealing such an identity in the halls of a castleship built by my long lost ancestors. Princess Allura and Coran already know, and they were just as surprised as me to see there were others,” Dio explained, crossing her arms as her cheeks colored in an almost embarrassed sort of way. “Oh, uh, by the way, thanks for helping Mav get me out. I wish you didn’t have to see me like that, but I’m thankful that you were there.” Lance shook his head. 

“It was no big deal. You were a big help with that whole Daibazaal mission business. I didn’t know you were Mavrina’s mate though,” Lance said, making her blush even more, a loving little smile replacing her nervous one from just a moment earlier. 

“Ah, yes. I’ve worked closely with her for many years, but the mates development is more of a recent one. But I’ve loved her for much longer than I cared to admit. She’s wonderful, though I think my friends and family back home wouldn't approve. They still hold a lot of animosity for all Galra, despite knowing full well all the good the Blade of Marmora is doing for the galaxy,” Dio said, shrugging near the end, “But what can you do, you know? It’s tiring trying to make them see what I do. I gave up long ago.” Lance nodded. 

“You aren’t the last?” Lance asked after a moment, realizing she had mentioned a place she’d come from. Lance had just assumed when Kolivan said she was an Altean from a long line, it meant that she was the last. Dio’s eyes widened as she realized what he meant, and then she promptly doubled over laughing. 

“N-No! Oh my, who gave you such an idea? No, there are many more Alteans on our new planet, though it’s hidden to the point that the Alliance only just found us some fifteen deca-phoebs ago. It’s called Ne’altea. I hope I can take Mav and Keeley there someday, it’s very beautiful. We have such a beautiful ocean and I miss the feeling of the rain.” 

“You have an ocean?” Lance asked. Dio nodded, smiling wistfully. 

“It’s such a deep blue, and it’s so pretty whenever the sun comes up. The reflection of our two moons over it is just as beautiful,” Dio stopped for a moment, looking over to him, “Would you like to come to, Lance?” She whispered softly, grabbing for his hand as a few tears began to fall from his eyes. He missed the ocean back home, but it wasn’t really the ocean making him cry right now. He’d thought of his family when he’d thought of the ocean. He missed them so bad. “Don’t cry, Lance. It’s okay.”

“I-I’m fine, Dio. Just give me a moment,” Lance said, and that she did, stepping away and giving him a moment to compose himself. “W-we have an ocean back home. It’s important to me, too. It reminded me of my family. They probably think I’m dead.” Dio didn’t even bother with laying a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, then, she went straight for a hug. 

She didn’t say anything while she hugged him, but he could feel what she was trying to tell him. She pulled back as quickly as she had pulled him in for the hug, and she took a step back. “I should be going now. Please, don’t hesitate to talk to me if you ever feel homesick again, La-Rayul. I know the feeling well, and I could give you some tips on how to make it a little better. I’ll see you in a bit.” Dio said, beginning to turn away to leave again. Lance once again stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “What is it?” 

“How long was I out? I think Allura let me sleep a little longer than I should have,” Lance asked, and she tilted her head at the question, before letting out a bit of a laugh. 

“A little? You’ve been asleep for at least one full day cycle and half of today’s day cycle. We leave for the mission in a few hours,” she told him, before turning back around and continuing down the hall. Lance watched her, and felt just a bit annoyed with Allura. At least it had been done with good intentions in mind. He turned back around, only to be faced with a slightly messy looking Mav with a dreamy look in her eyes coming out of the same room Dio had just left. 

“She sure is something, isn’t she?” Mav sighed happily before walking down the hall towards Pidge’s lab. Lance felt his face color as he realized what they had been using that room for. He had thought it was odd Dio had been in that room, since it was one of the rooms no one really used. He shook his head frantically trying to clear out those thoughts. He really did not want the mental images of that. He respected his mentor and Dio, and he sure as hell was not going to let his mind go there anymore than it already had. 

He hurried towards the bathroom, not wanting to encounter anything else he would regret seeing/hearing. At least no one was in the bathroom when he finally got there. He quickly stripped out of his things in the stall before setting them right outside within easy reach. His mask rested on top of the little pile, a sure identifying sign for anyone who came in. About halfway through scrubbing his shoulders, he heard the door swish open and someone with heavy steps walk in. Steps that he was alternating between identifying as Shiro or Hunk. He almost wanted it to be Shiro, at this point. He didn’t know what to say to his friend of so long. He knew he’d hurt the other, but he didn’t know how to explain how everything had happened and apologize in a way they were both satisfied with. 

The footsteps stopped in front of his shower stall, and quick peek under the stall door lead him to know it was Hunk. He sighed, quickly finishing with the rest of his shower before turning the water off and grabbing the towel he’d left out for himself on the top of the door to dry off. He wrapped it around himself securely as he waited for Hunk to say something or not. 

“I locked the door so no one can come in,” Hunk’s voice rang out. Lance gulped, knowing that his friend was probably going to want answers. Lance took a deep breath in to steady himself before he opened the shower door, only to be faced with the hurt look on his friend’s face. He shut his eyes, something he immediately berated himself for. What use was it, if he couldn’t even look his friend in the eyes. 

“I’m sorry,” Lance blurted without really thinking. He opened them again after a long moment of silence in which Hunk didn’t even seem to acknowledge his apology, half-assed though it may have been. His friend was looking at him with something akin to horror, and it was only then that Lance realized his amalgamation of scars he’d gathered through the last few months was mostly showing. Some he’d gotten in the fight on Yggdrasil, others he’d gotten with he Blade, others because he was a dumbass sometimes. 

“How’d you get all those?” Hunk asked, the horror in his voice matching his expression. 

“Oh, y’know,”Lance said, hoping to avoid that subject. He hadn’t meant to let anyone besides Coran and the Blade medics see them. He didn’t want them to feel bad for not being able to prevent them. They were the results of his choice, not something any of them were responsible for. Hunk shook his head, lips drawing back tightly. Lance winced. That had been the wrong thing to say, clearly. 

“I really don’t. What happened to you?” Hunk asked, sincerity dripping off the words, even when Lance could tell he was still pissed at him. 

“Had a run with the space mafia… some of these are from Blade missions, but I only got hurt because I didn’t follow orders! So, I mean, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Lance rushed out quickly. Hunk suddenly looked incredibly pissed again. 

“Damn it Lance! I will worry about it because I’m your friend, and that’s what friends do when they don’t know what the hell’s going on with the other one! We worry, damn it, I worry, because I’m your friend. Or at least, I thought I was,” Hunk burst out, making Lance flinch from the truth of it all. 

“You are!” Lance yelled back, “The best friend I’ve ever had.” 

“Then why won’t you tell me!” Hunk yelled back, making Lance flinch again. 

“Because I don’t want to hurt you, damn it! These scars are a result of my decisions! No one elses! I don’t want you guys to feel like these are your fault,” Lance said, willing the tears not to fall. It looked like it would be a losing battle though, as one escaped down his cheek. Hunk followed the trail of it as it fell, a strained expression on his face. 

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you left without saying a word to any of us,” Hunk muttered, and with that, he turned around and left, and Lance was left staring at the space Hunk had been, once again. 

>

Lance watched as the others streamed in for the briefing before the mission. Allura had already been there, along with Coran, Mav, Dio, Nyma, Rolo, and Keeley. Keeley shuffled over to him when he entered the room, holding onto his hand. He felt a little better at that. Maybe Dio had told her how badly he’d been feeling lately. She gave him a small, tentative smile as Shiro walked in, followed closely by Keith. Keith looked deep in thought, to the point where he bumped into Shiro. Shiro looked a little surprised, but didn’t really say anything to Keith other than a little shake of his head like he had given up on trying to tell Keith anything. It was the same one Luis did with him, Lance thought. 

Allura gave him a momentary sad look from across the room, before walking over to Shiro to confirm what they both wanted to say. Once that was done, he watched as they quietly reached for each other’s hands. Matt walked in at that moment, face contemplative as Pidge discussed something with him quietly. He looked up, face changing into almost a hurt expression of sorts once he saw Allura and Shiro together. 

Lance filed that information away for later. Maybe he could get Matt to talk about it, if he wanted to, that was. Matt looked away from them after a moment, eyes settling on where Lance was standing with Keeley half hidden behind him. His face lit up just a bit as he silently led both himself and Pidge over to stand by Lance. Lance was a little grateful for it. He’d have to talk to Pidge later about how he could apologize for everything that had happened. For everything he continued to do wrong. 

Hunk walked in last, choosing a spot pretty far away from most everyone. The closest to him was Coran, who looked about as comfortable with this turn of events as a kid who had just received his bad report card and was about to hand it over to their mother. When Coran caught Lance looking at them, he gave him a small, polite smile. 

Allura’s brief was a blur, but that was mostly okay because Lance at least knew what he had to do, who he would be going with, and what the objectives were. He caught some of the words Shiro said to get everyone ready for the mission, which he appreciated, but couldn’t bring himself to actively listen then. Hunk’s words kept playing over and over in his mind, searing themselves into it. 

Once Shiro finished talking, everyone started walking to where they needed to be. Lance mechanically started walking towards Matt, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Shiro gave him a worried look when he turned, before pointing in Keith’s direction. “Plans changed a little, you’re going with Keith. Hope that’s not an issue, Rayul.” 

“Of course not,” he found himself saying, his mood brightened just a bit by being able to go with Keith. Since he’d found himself back on the Castle of Lions, he hadn’t gotten many chances to spend time with the Red Paladin. After all, the guy didn’t like to actively spend time with a new comer who may or may not have been an Empire spy. They probably wouldn’t do much talking, since Rayul didn’t do much talking, and neither did Keith, but still.

“Great. Good luck with your part of the mission,” Shiro told him, giving him a small confident smile before breaking off in the direction of Black, not even giving him a chance to return the sentiment. Lance shrugged as he watched Shiro get further away, before turning and following Keith to his lion. 

“So…,” Lance started, gingerly walking up the ramp to Red’s cockpit. He felt Red let out a flare of irritation towards him, as though they were annoyed he hadn’t just told everyone at this point. He also kind of got the feeling they were having an ‘I told you so’ moment with what had happened with Hunk. Where Blue was a kind and gentle supportive force, Red was a blunt supportive force. They told you what you needed to hear, whether you liked it or not. “I hope you do not mind that I was chosen to come along with you.” Lance said, getting the distinct feeling Keith wasn’t exactly playing attention when he didn’t get a response. 

“Nope, don’t mind it,” Keith replied eventually, short, to the point, much like the advice his lion pointedly gave. Lance let the conversation fall into silence as he began to make out the satellite in the far distance. He knew Keith wouldn’t be able to see it for a while yet, and all he could really use to tell it was, in fact, there, was the giant empty space devoid of stars.

“Is… is that it?” Keith asked abruptly, to no one, and everyone at the same time. Lance heard similar exclamations of terrified awe from the rest of the team. Lance had been to a satellite base roughly this size before, so it didn’t phase him much, but the rest of the team seemed terrified at the size of this thing. It was, as the Blade had estimated, roughly the size of a small planet. Because of how resource consuming these satellites were, there were only four, now three of them in the entire universe. This one was the second oldest, and had been around for five thousand years. It had been built entirely in space, as no gravity would allow such a behemoth to be built. 

“Yes. It is roughly the size of a small planet. This is why my superiors suggested splitting up to cover more ground, as dangerous as that is,” Lance said, the gruffness of Rayul’s voice making the words seem more like a growl than the tight, clipped words they were. The fourth one, which the Blade had destroyed a few months ago, had been Lance’s first mission. He didn’t know why Kolivan chose him for that mission, as important as it was, and it had been where he’d killed his first Galra soldier. A druid, actually. He might have killed other Galra soldiers accidentally during his time as a paladin, collateral in different explosions and base destroying exploits, but she was the first he’d killed face to face. It hadn’t been a good time for him. 

“Jesus Christ,” Pidge’s response came through the radio, “this is like the size of an entire country on Earth. What the fuck. What the fuck-,” she finished, cutting herself off before Shiro could. He reprimanded her, but there was no harshness behind the “Language!” mumble he let out. 

Lance’s mask suddenly lit up with a path for approach as they neared closer to their destination, and Lance smiled. “You finished hacking in, Keeley?” Lance asked to the girl. He knew he wouldn’t get a response with so many people in the channel, but the lit path did brighten a bit before settling back down. One flash was her response for yes, two her response for no. The team was quiet as they neared closer, though before they got to their Lion parking destinations, Pidge asked, “That was Keeley? I’ll have to ask her about her lit path software. It would make some of our missions easier.” 

“Of course,” Keeley’s voice came through, surprising Lane. She almost never chose to talk over comms, so to hear her answer Pidge was a bit of a pleasant surprise. “You guys are approaching entry. My signals to any questions asked are one flash to your path for yes, two for no. If you need a new path, your path will flash a different color as it changes. I try to keep quiet during missions to allow you to focus. Are you guys clear on that?” A chorus of short agreements flooded the comms before everything became quiet as Keith set them down right where they were supposed to land. Lance turned, heading for the exit ramp that had opened when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Keith gave him a grin. 

“Good luck out there, Rayul. See you back here soon?” Keith asked, reaching for his bayard. 

“Of course. Let’s just hope you’re quick enough to get back here,” Lance opted for a tease, to which Keith responded with widened eyes and bigger grin. 

“I am,” Keith responded, making Lance laugh a bit. 

“We’ll see then, won’t we?” Lance replied as he slipped into a waste disposal opening. Lance counted down the seconds in his head. It opened periodically, once every thirty seconds, roughly, and it was only open for five seconds. Lance just hoped there wouldn’t be any waste getting disposed when he had to go through. The chute opened, thankfully without waste, and Lance dove in, making it just in time. Lance opened the team comms with a short command. 

“I’m in,” he said, before sliding further in, hoping he’d be able to get out of this trash chute relatively soon. 

“Same here,” Pidge said through the comms, before letting out a small curse.

“You okay?” Lance asked before he could really stop himself. He heard her let out a short laugh. 

“Yeah, just got hit in the face by some weird goop,” Pidge said, the sound of Matt checking in to say he was in interrupting her sentence. 

“Just got in,” Shiro said immediately after, “I know Rayul, Pidge, Matt and me are in, and Keith must not be too far behind you, Rayul, so where is Hunk?”

“Oh yeah, sorry Shiro. I’m in. I was just concentrating. It’s kinda compact in here, don’t you think?” Hunk chimed in, and Lance had to put some effort into not laughing like the others had. Hunk probably wouldn’t have appreciated him laughing at something he said right now. 

“Well, it is a trash chute,” Pidge said, snickering. 

‘Alright team, as soon as Keith checks in we’re going quiet. The druids will be able to pick up on our comms activity, won’t they Rayul?” Shiro interrupted. The others immediately calmed down, and Lance once again felt the way they responded to him. He could practically feel them getting serious despite not being able to see them. 

“I’m in, I think. Is it supposed to be so dark in here?” Keith grumbled. Lance laughed. 

“Yup. It is a trash chute,” Lance said, a mirror of Pidge’s words just moments earlier. 

“Alright, that’s everyone. The operation starts now. You all have one hour to do your part. Comms off, everyone, unless absolutely needed.” Lance was immediately plunged into silence, save for the distant sounds of Keith crawling through behind him, and the sounds of the satellite as it worked. It wasn’t completely dark for him though, because as soon as Shiro had quieted everyone, a path again lit up in front of him. 

“Thank you,” Lance murmured, the word’s barely a rumble, blending into the sounds of the satellite around them. He quieted, focusing down as he worked his way down the trash chute. It took him a good ten minutes of precious, precious time, but he would have to work with it. There were no guards or sentries in the hall he arrived to, so he got out as quickly as he could, hearing a distant sneeze from Keith. 

He didn’t bother waiting for Keith, despite how much he wanted to, because he had to get to his place and dispatch his druid as soon as the other four did, and his druid was farther away than Keith’s was, judging by the thinness of the line Keeley had presented him. 

He started off down the hall, focused on reaching his target. Until, at least, Hunk’s words came tearing through his thoughts with a stunning force behind it. He winced, shaking his head to try to clear his mind for right now, but his mind wouldn’t let up, throwing in extra things he was sure Hunk had never said- or hadn’t he? 

Lance desperately shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as he he picked up his pace, barely catching himself from being discovered by a few wandering sentries, accompanied by a guard. He pressed himself flat against the wall, hidden in the shadows as they passed. Once they were an adequate distance away, he started off again, pushing off the hall with barely a sound. He ran like it the wind rushing past him could rid him of the thought in his mind. 

Shiro started the countdown for when they would all strike. It burned in the back of his head, starting at fifteen. Lance would make it, but only just barely. Suddenly, an itch began in the very back of his mind that he hadn’t felt in a long time. Since before he’d left, really. The feeling of forming Voltron was incredibly distinct. They must be forming a mind meld to act at the same time, without realizing it, and he was being drawn in. Shiro touched on the five just as Lance saw the door to the massive room the druids worked in, pawing for the blade strapped to his thigh. It was of unknown origin to the Blade, and apparently to the Empire as well, the perfect weapon to leave behind in an assassination. 

He threw it, the blade slipping through his perfectly parted fingers, whirling silently through the air to hit the druid square in the back just as the others took down their druids. 

He felt his breath leave him as right after the blade left his fingers, he was connected. Suddenly, his memories of the past few months flew in front of his eyes, and he heard Shiro’s and Keith’s surprised gasps somewhere in the distance. He fought the connection, practically begging Blue’s presence in the back of his mind to release him. The connection was broken as soon as it had been formed, and Lance was left reeling, gasping breaths and trying his best to calm down. 

The reaction to the druids death had been instant, the harsh glow of purple quintessence exploding outwards as it rebounded, rocking the satellite and knocking Lance backwards, right into a part of the wall that was sticking out. He felt all the air in him leave as he slid down, trying desperately to catch his breath back, distantly hearing the voices of his teammates through the comms. 

“Rayul!” Shiro was yelling, “Rayul, report! Are you okay! What happened?” 

“M’f- M’fine,” Lance managed, coughing as he stood up, searching for the exit he needed to use with his eyes. A red light had begun to flash, signaling their presence to the guards and sentries stationed here. He had to start moving, and he had to do it soon. 

“If you say so,” Shiro replied, sounding hesitant. “I’m going to head up to the central command and shut this thing down. Paladins, get your helmets ready.” The comms went quiet again as everyone either rushed to their Lions or the command center. Lance gritted his teeth as he discovered his back wasn’t exactly going to cooperate with him. He’d have to adjust. 

He was moving back to Keith’s Lion just fine, making good time when he felt a tap on his back, only to discover no one was there. _Or were they_ , he thought, remembering how that girl had seamlessly blended into her background, almost like a chameleon. With as much speed as he could muster, he threw out his leg, almost not believing when it caught on something, until she slowly, ever slowly started appearing. It was the same girl from his last mission. “You again,” he hissed. 

“Me again,” she acknowledged, looking slightly more pissed off than the last time she’d greeted him. Maybe it was because he’d landed a solid hit this time. “What are you doing here?” She hissed back, before shaking her head and adding, “It doesn’t matter, little Blue. Gives me a great opportunity to capture you for my Prince.” He tensed, realizing who she meant. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, squaring up as best he could with the back injury he had, “I’m afraid I won’t let that happen.”

“They never do,” she grinned, before moving to strike. Lance stepped aside easily, though she’d almost hit him. The injury was cutting his speed. He supposed he’d just have to go about this with some tact. 

“Lance, duck!” A voice called out, definitely not on his comms. He looked up, seeing Hunk and his bayard, which looked to be powering up. He jumped back, pressing himself as far back into the wall as he could just as Hunk fired, hitting the Prince’s subordinate square in the back. She fell with a soft whimper, eyes sliding shut. The front of her clothes looked slightly charred, but it looked like the force of the blast was what had did it. “L-,” Hunk started, only for them both to tense up again at the sound of two different sets of footprints running towards them. 

Keith popped out of the hallway, and one stopped just feet from him, seemingly unaware he was standing behind the part of the hall’s walls that stuck out every so often. “Lotor,” Keith growled, activating his bayard. Lance felt a dropping feeling deep in his stomach. “What are you doing here?”

“I don’t need to answer that, Red Paladin,” Lotor hissed back, sounding very, so very close to Lance. Lance could probably reach over and end it, freeing him to be himself, and be back with his team. But he doesn’t, because there’s three people two people flanking Lotor and he doesn’t want to die here. Not before he finishes things with Hunk. Keith’s eyes flick to Lance, almost surprised to see him shift in the shadows, getting ready to rush over to where his team is positioned. “Zethrid, take Ezor and retreat back to the ship. If they’re walking about freely, it means the druids on this ship are dead and they’re going to destroy this place.” Hunk shifts nervously, their whole plan revealed by Lotor in under ten seconds of seeing them. Lance worries Lotor will try to unravel their plans until he sees Keith take a step forward, his only warning before Keith is charging for Lotor. Lance tries to tell Keith to stop, but it only comes out as choked yelp when someone collapses on top of him. 

“I thought I killed you,” they say, their voice crisp and irritated. “I guess I missed.” Lance’s mind whirls back all the way to when he was shot on Daibazaal. This is the sniper who shot him. He glances up seeing the blaster holstered to her belt. That probably means she’s less experienced in hand to hand, like he was. Which means he most likely has the upper hand here. Her foot is not placed well, and he takes advantage of that. He flips their positions, not bothering to collapse on top of her, but scrambling back to stand near Hunk, narrowly missing a swipe of Lotor’s blade as he misses Keith. 

“Didn’t kill me if that’s what you meant,” he calls as she gets up, a grimace on her face and anger in her eyes. “Hurt like a bitch though.” Beside him, Hunk powers up his blaster, shooting for her. She dodges, just barely missing it, but it seems like all she needs as she launches herself at them, not even noticing the blaster Lance has taken out. He shoots the lower part of her leg, below the knee. She cries out, falling to the floor. Lotor looks up, at the sound, and it looks like all Keith needs to strike because suddenly Lotor is unconscious on the floor with a loud ‘thump’. Their other attacker immediately stops struggling to get up, putting her hands up in a defensive surrender. 

“Please, let me take my Prince and go,” she tries after a moment of stunned silence from all of them, wincing at Keith’s growl. 

“Not a chance in he-,” Keith tries, but Lance and Hunk both cut him off. 

“Go.” They ignore Keith’s squawk of confusion as they motion for him to lower his blade. The woman slowly gets up, walking over to carry the prince and off down the hallway, only moving faster near the end. She pauses there, looking back with an indecipherable look to her face. 

“We are not your enemies, Paladins. Please, tell that to your princess,” and with that, she turns the corner, leaving them all behind in stunned, irritated (Keith) silence. Suddenly, the ship jerked over, almost like it was being turned on it’s side. Lance barely stopped himself from knocking into the side of the wall, and Hunk had leaned himself against two crates that weren’t going anywhere. They nodded to each other when their eyes met. A loud thump from behind them made them look over, only to discover Keith in a heap against the wall. He must not have found something to hold onto. 

“We need to get to Keith,” Lance spoke, tapping his mask to turn off the comms feature. His voice was a bit muffled, and growly as it always was when his voice changer was on. 

“I’ll do it. I can carry him easier,” Hunk immediately answered, starting to move around the crates, eyes fixed on another set of crates he could successfully fall into. Lance shook his head, making his friend pause in confusion. 

“A lot’s changed in a few months, Hunky. I’ve got it. You start getting to your Lion. Shiro’s going to sound the order anytime soon,” Lance said, already expertly maneuvering towards Keith. A situation very similar to this one had been in many of his training sessions. 

“Wha- what did change, Lance? Wh-why did you leave us?” Hunk asked after a moment, causing Lance to turn around, already situated right beside Keith to lift him up and start getting him out of here. Lance’s face crumpled as he looked back down to Keith behind him. 

“I- I was the weakest link. A replacement for Keith when Keith had to step up and lead us, but then Shiro was back and Keith could go back to piloting Red. Allura piloted Blue better than I ever could. I was holding us back. Lotor was attacking us because of me. I couldn’t put you guys through that when I wasn’t needed there. I couldn’t,” Lance lets the words tumble out this time, uninhibited. Hunk deserved the truth, at the very least. 

“La-,” Hunk begins, the sound of his name a broken whine, filled with grief, but he’s cut off by the sound of Shiro in both their comms. 

“If you didn’t get the message with the rock of the satellite, than I’m giving you the message now. Get to your Lions!” Shiro exclaims, before the comms go silent again as their teammates start making their way towards their Lions. Lance and Hunk stare back at one another, both determined not to look away first, but Lance eventually gives in, looking away to pick Keith up, avoiding Hunk’s eyes as he turns back away ready to move away. 

“I’m not finished with this,” Hunk calls after him. When Lance looks back, it’s to the form of Hunk’s retreating back. Lance allows himself a small smile as he begins to take Keith back to Red. _I never wanted you to be_ , he thinks to himself. 

He runs to silence, save for the occasional sharp intake of breath from Keith. Lance spots the patch of redness on Keith’s forehead, and knows if Coran doesn’t deem a healing pod necessary, then Keith’s going to have a wicked head bruise. As he gets closer to the trash chute they came in through, he calls out to Red. There’s only one way to do this, and it’s not going to be fun for anyone if he doesn’t get Red’s cooperation. 

_Red?!_ Lance asks hurriedly as he secures Keith’s space mask on, beginning to feel pressed for time when all the lights in the satellite go out. He feels a wave of assurance from Red. And nothing more. He sighs, knowing that’s about as much as he’s going to get from the temperamental lion, who huffs in the back of his mind at being called temperamental. In one swift motion, with the groan of the effort, he deposits Keith to slide down the chute. Red gives him an amused sound in his head, and he grimaces before shoving himself into the chute. Keith is out in the opening as Lance approaches it, and Lance is out moments later, deposited into Red’s open jaw. Keith is lying in a heap on Red’s floor, looking strangely out of place for this being his Lion. Lance picks Keith up again, laying him on one of the benches behind the pilot’s seat. 

“Alright, Red, take us home,” Lance whispers, ignoring the check ins from the team for now. Red sends him happiness, and for a moment, he’s confused until Red replays what he’d just said. And oh, he’d called the Castle home. He’s just started trying to focus on the teams conversation, trying to make sense of it when he picks up on something important. Shiro just got into his Lion, later than they’d all thought he would. Too late to get out of the blast radius. Lance feels himself tense as he takes Red’s controls, just as the satellite explodes behind him, in tandem with his team’s screams. Lance turns Red around and starts navigating the debris. Shiro’s gone silent; never a good sign when it comes to him. 

Red spots Black through the debris, giving him a course to follow. He maneuvers Red as best he can, but he still ends up hitting several larger pieces. “I’ve got him,” Lance says through Rayul’s voice as Red attaches himself to Black’s prone body. 

“Thank the Ancestors,” Allura says back immediately, everyone stopping their worried chatter. “Do you need any help navigating the debris? I’m sure Blue’s echolocation cannon would be helpful here.” He shakes his head, despite the fact that she can’t see it. 

“Red’s already got me a path. I’ll be fine if we all start heading back. Shiro and Keith are both unconscious, so I’d just like to take this chance to say I’d like everyone to meet in Matt’s room-,” 

“Why mine?!” 

“-to discuss what we should do. Me and Hunk had a run in with Lotor that went about as expected. And to answer your question, Matt, your room because no one goes in there because of all the weird smelling plants.” 

“It might not fit everyone at this point,” Allura says hesitantly. “Though I don’t mind it being Matt’s room if everyone’s alright with that.” 

“Well, what are we talking about?” Coran suddenly chimes in. “I missed the beginning of what you were saying, my boy.” 

“I- I want to explain what happened in the last few months, at least, for me, and I also wanted to talk about what to do next. At this point, it’s only Shiro and Keith. I want to tell them, but I also want to make sure everyone agrees it’s safe,” Lance explains, setting Red down in her hangar. 

“Are you sure, Lance? You don’t have to,” Pidge says, something like genuine worry in her voice. Lance laughs at that as Red opens her jaw, and he goes to pick Keith up to get him to Coran. 

“I’m sure. I’ll keep all the things I don’t want you guys to know quite yet if I can. I’ll tell you anything important though, though I’m sure Kolivan will reprimand me for telling. My position is technically top secret, though I’m sure he’ll make an exception for Voltron,” Lance says, a laugh in his voice. 

“Kolivan knew?!” Allura whisper-exclaimed. Lance laughed at her angered tone. 

“I told him not to tell you guys. But yeah, kinda hard to have someone train you when they don’t know who you are and are also the head of a top secret rebellious organization,” Lance joked, arriving at the medical room, limping in with Keith’s weight in his arms. Now that he wasn’t run-walking for his life whole carrying Keith, he could afford to let the limp show. Allura showed up steps behind him with Shiro being bridal carried in her arms. Lance snickered and she cocked her head to the side in confusion. Shiro didn’t look any worse for wear than Keith, leading him to believe they’d both been knocked out by the same thing. 

Coran immediately appeared at Shiro’s side, checking his vitals with a movement of his tablet over Shiro’s prone form. Coran looked up, smiling at Allura. “He will be fine, but it’s best if we put both of them in pods to keep a concussion from forming. It should only take a few hours, but I hear you wanted to tell us something?” Coran asked. Lance nodded. 

“Yeah. I think I’m ready.” 

><

Shiro didn’t so much as come to consciousness as consciousness was forced onto him by the cold blast of air that hit him when the pod, he assumed, opened. He stumbled out, barely catching a hold of the edge of the pod to stop himself from falling flat on his face. He hadn’t opened his eyes yet, but everything was much too bright and he’d prefer it if his eyes could remain closed, but usually Matt or Allura would’ve spoken up by now to let them know they were there, and he could lean on them. Neither of them being here to greet him was… worrying. It scared him to think something might’ve happened while he was out of commission. Something he couldn’t protect them from. The thought made him open his eyes, determined to find them both and make sure they were all right, even if they were too busy for him. 

He wished they were here though. One of them would’ve been good, but both would’ve been best. They were both such warm, strong people. Stronger than he could ever hope to be and everything he didn’t deserve. God, he had such a crush. On both of them, at once. He knew it would never happen, but it made him happy. Even if he didn’t deserve to be, he needed it sometimes, to get him through times like when he’d been captured, and when he was finding his way back to his team after the fight with Zarkon. 

He still blamed himself for Lance. Maybe if he’d been there, or even gotten there sooner, the younger man wouldn’t have left. Then, everyone would be happier, he thinks. 

He shakes these thoughts off as he stumbles around a corner, finding himself in front of Matt’s room as he does so. He smiles to himself. He hadn’t meant to get himself here, but he had. No matter, if Matt was in his room he probably wouldn’t mind. Matt had always been like that, never minding if Shiro intruded on his space if Shiro wanted to talk or just share his space. The smile was still there as he opened the door, ready to call for his friend and see if he was in there, only to come face to face with every face in the Castle, practically, sans Keith, who he assumed was also in a pod. 

"What’s going on gu-,” the question died in his throat as his eyes landed on the person sitting on Matt’s bed, small Galran girl in his lap. “Lance?” The boy in question’s face went from shocked and somber to a cheeky smile in less than a second, waving at Shiro. 

“Hey Shiro!” 

><

When Keith woke up, he tripped on the rim of the pod and fell straight into someone’s chest. Keith guessed who it was without opening his eyes as they righted him and helped get him on his feet with a deep chuckle. “Shiro?” 

“Yep. You’re lucky you get someone there for you to fall onto. I had to get myself all the way to Matt’s room just to find someone to help me,” Shiro teased as Keith opened his eyes, only to immediately shut them against the darkness of the light. He groaned at the way it made his head throb. He tried to think back to the last time his eyes had been open, coming to the conclusion that it had been on the satellite after Rayul and Hunk had let Lotor go. Yet he seemed to remember seeing something else, though the way Rayuls body was moving, and how there were three of him told it was probably something he was remembering wrong, but he could’ve sworn he heard Lance’s voice coming from behind Rayul’s mask at several points. 

Keith was quiet as Shiro led him to his room to rest a bit more, but stopped Shiro before the other could open his door. “I can get myself to my bed from here, Shiro. But, I have to ask you a question.” 

“Alright, if you’re sure. As for the question, it depends on if I have an answer to share. You know I don’t know how many feet are in a mile,” Shiro teased, giving him a soft grin, one Keith rarely saw these days. Keith’s brows knit together. 

“D-did- wait, no- have you heard Lance’s voice from behind Rayul’s mask? I swear I did, while I was out,” Keith said, causing the smallest break in composure from Shiro before it smoothed back over, and Shiro shook his head with finality. Something he never managed to do before Kerberos when he was lying, but who knows what he could do after being in Galra hands for so long. Keith didn’t trust it, but decided to accept the answer for now. 

“No. I think you were suffering from the signs of a concussion. You must be missing Lance more than you’ve told me, though, if you heard Lance when Rayul was speaking,” Shiro said. "I mean, their voices are totally different." 

“Yeah, that must be it,” Keith accepted, walking stiffly towards his bed. He just wanted some sleep. He had a throbbing headache, his limbs hurt like he’d pulled all of them, and he was almost nauseous at this point. Shiro smiled before giving him a little wave and closing his door, footsteps fading down the hall. 

As soon as Shiro’s footsteps had faded, Keith flopped on the bed, closing his eyes and hoping for sleep to come soon. 

“Maybe I was imagining it,” Keith told himself, more of a breath out than anything. He shifted, trying to get more comfortable, when, all of a sudden, three distinct voices played in his mind at the same time, Red’s furious, Blue’s amused, and Black’s assured tone, all saying the same thing. 

_**_“You weren’t.”_ ** _

**Author's Note:**

> my main tumblr is move-on-bi.tumblr.com while my voltron sideblog is swordbayards.tumblr.com which is multiship so like, just be careful. i don't want no hate for what i ship. and pls don't bring it onto this fic it's klance and i don't plan on changing it.


End file.
